Football

Johnson, Kelly to Play in 2017 National Bowl

Dec 06, 2017

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Senior defensive backs DeeJay Johnsona and Nik Kelly were named to the 8th Annual 2017 National Bowl set for Daytona Beach Stadium on December 10, 2017 which will including 33 Pro Souts confirmed from 13 NFL Teams on hand.

Kelly, a senior defensive back from League City, Texas, wraps up an illustrious career as one of the top pass defenders in the entire nation among all divisions. Kelly finished his career with 58 passes defended, good for first in all divisions in a four year career, and 17 interceptions, good for second. Kelly was second in the ASC in passes defended with 14 and interceptions with four. Kelly finished with 41 tackles including four tackles for loss. Kelly finished 12th in the nation in passes defended per game at 1.8 as he finished with a total of 18 pass breakups. Kelly had two or more breakups in five games this season including two separate games with three.

Kelly was also a danger in returning kicks where he also earned honorable mention honors. He had 33 kick returns averaging 22.6 yards/return and a long of 55 yards. He also had 11 punt returns for 80 yards. He was named to the 2017 All-South Region Team on Tuesday.

On the other side of Kelly was Johnson, a senior from Humble, Texas, who was third in the ASC with 15 pass breakups on the season. In a league that featured some of the best offenses in the nation, Kelly and Johnson were a huge reason that Southwestern finished fourth in the ASC in total defense. Johnson finished with 28 tackles on the second including a pair of interceptions. Johnson had two or more breakups in four different contests this season.

The game will be played at Daytona Municipal Stadium in Daytona, Fla. The National Bowl features the best NCAA Division ll and Division lll college athletes and is heavily scouted by the NFL and CFL. Last year saw 14 NFL Teams, 5 CFL Teams, and over 30 scouts present. More than 250 players have gone pro from East Preps/ SPIRAL Bowls and combines since 2009. SPIRAL also puts on the premier FCS Bowl in Daytona National Bowl weekend and the SPIRAL Tropical Bowl each January featuring top FBS seniors.